Auf Weidersehen, Mom and Dad!

I knew it was going to come to an end soon, but not that soon! My mom was here for 6 weeks and 1 day to be exact and my dad was here for 3 weeks. We had a great time! I loved showing them our new home and exploring new places that even we had never been to before. By the time they left my mom visited 4 countries-Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and France and my dad did them all but the Czech Republic.

My mom and I went on a trip together (no husbands and no kids!) to Prague for the long weekend. And, oh my was that an adventure. First off, we drove on roads that were not even supposed to be driven on. It was VERY scary the whole way to the airport. But, I didn’t have a choice but to keep going (there was no where to stop unless we wanted to sleep in the car for the night) so we moved at a very slow pace to the airport. After more drama at the airport…we were on our way to Prague. If you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful city! After two days we headed back home to Germany. And how could the drama end there—the %&*^ GPS got us lost! How do you think that could happen? Aren’t they supposed give you directions!?! Well, not mine! We went through every farm road from the airport, home—and it wasn’t the best weather either. We were never so happy to see our village town sign and know that we were finally home!

We did many, many projects around the house. From painting, to sewing, to organizing it was a very successful, task oriented time. I love having my mom here because it gives me a chance to do things that I wouldn’t otherwise do with the kids.

My dad came for 3 weeks. It was so nice to finally have him with us. The kids love their Daddy Don…especially when he does the Donald Duck sneeze! They played plenty of hide and go seek, games, fighting (for AJ), and dolls (for Grace). A funny memory I have is when dad would play dolls with Grace and have a car accident on the autobahn. It was so funny!

We went on a long weekend vacation to Garmisch in the german alps. It was such a beautiful place. So far, one of my most favorite places yet. Jason and I skied on Friday and had a great day with just the two of us. It had been 13 years since I last skied, so I wasn’t so sure how it was going to go. Just like riding a bike, it came back to the both of us. We went ice skating, enjoyed walking around the village and also had dinner with some friends who were also down there that same weekend.

I love to look back at the pictures and think of the wonderful times we spent together. I can’t wait for their next visit already!

Thank you mom and dad for such a special time here. I treasure you both so much and am so thankful to have such amazing parents. God is so good!

Happy Birthday GG and Aunt Sharon!

Hope you have a very special day! We love you both!

PiGgY tAiLs!!

As you know Grace has had little to no hair up to this point...and she is almost 2! I was so excited when after my mom and I were playing with her hair we realized it is just long enough to make into pigtails. I think she looks so cute, and more like a little girl than a baby with them.

Snow day

I love seeing all the snow that is covering the ground. It just makes winter time that much more fun when you have a blanket of white snow on the ground to look at. Unfortunately, the rains have started, so the snow will start to melt. I am just glad my mom got to see it before it's gone. Who knows when we will get that much snow again!

Snow=time to shovel the sidewalk


Oh no! It's snow ball fight time!
Jackson was using Emma's ball thrower to throw snow balls up the driveway. Emma would run after trying to catch the snow ball before it hit the ground. She loved it!
I love this shot. He had the most beautiful blue eyes!

Anticipation...

As the days grow closer we are getting excited for my mom's arrival on Friday. We can hardly wait for her to get here! Although I think she is more excited to see the kids than seeing us. :-)
We have about 5 inches on snow on the ground and I hope it stays so she can see how gorgeous it is. Jackson and I went out in the back today and played in the snow together. He sure is a good snow ball fighter! He loves to be outdoors and playing in the snow. Grace on the other hand loves to be out there for just a little time and then she is ready to head in and get warm...or get all the clothes on that I layer her in to stay warm. I will be sure to post some pictures soon when I get caught up with all my other to-dos.

New Year...time to get back to blogging!

I have made it one of my many New Year's resolutions to be better about blogging. Not a day goes by that I don't have something special to make a note of. My husband and children are such a blessing to me! We have moved to a beautiful new country and are experiencing so many new things around our home.
The year 2009 was a big one for us! We decided to put in for a transfer to Europe and if it was God's will then we would get it. Well, it is God's will...we found out the beginning of April that we would be leaving our home of 6-7 years in Okinawa to move to Kaiserlautern/Ramstein, Germany. We were so mixed with emotion when we found out. Jason and I were excited to get to Europe and explore our travel possibilities, but we would be leaving our home and some of our best friends. After 3 months of planning and saying our good-byes we flew over Okinawa to the States for one last time. It was very sad for us! Okinawa was a wonderful place to live and will always hold a special place in our hearts.
We did our usual summer trips of Texas for 3 1/2 weeks then to Michigan for the remaining 3 1/2 weeks. The kids loved being with the grandparents and the cousins. Each summer gets better for them as they form more of a bond with our families. Jackson loves playing with Tommy doing what boys do. I can only imagine what they will be doing in the summers to come! Grace is getting more girly, so I know her and Hope will have many dolls and other girls thing to keep them occupied.
The beginning of August we flew to our new home...Germany. Hard for us to believe that we were finally getting there after months and months of preparing, reading and researching the area. It was quite a process getting the beginning things checked off our list. The big one was getting our drivers license. It was a big test with a even bigger failure rate, so it was a little intimidating for Jason and I. Luckily, the studying paid off and we passed! The next big thing was finding a place to live. Because summer is such a big time for people to move, the housing was hard to come by...especially large homes with big yard which was what we were looking for. The second house we looked at we hit the jackpot. We love the area (close to base and Jackson's preschool/church), huge backyard, playroom for the kids, and a whole seperate area for our guest who come to visit. We are very thankful for what we have and the house that has been provided for us.
Now for Jason to start his new job and Jackson's first days of preschool. Jason's school is on a base that has not much of anything else that is open. Just the major things-commissary, post office, gas stations, bank, gym, bowling alley...you know the usuals! It is not busy, but so far he is liking how quiet the base is and not as busy as some of the other ones in the area. He is teaching special ed, learning impaired students. He has some that he works with one on one as well as working in the classroom with a number of students who are in need of some extra help. He loves what he does, as he should because he is an excellent teacher! Jackson started preschool at Faith Baptist Church which has also become our new home church. We are very happy with it and so is he. He loves going to school, his teacher Mrs. Maria, and learning more about our faith. It makes Jason and I so happy to see him growing in Christ in these past months. I pray that he continues to grow in Him and becomes one that follows Christ and all He has planned for his life.
Grace is doing great. She is our shy one and is some-what of a "mama's girl." I don't know if it's just a girl thing, or her personality, but she isn't like Jackson at all. Hard to believe that she will be 2 in just 4 months! She is (and will always be) our little baby girl. She is talking up a storm lately and we are amazed by the words that she is saying. She definitely knows how to push our buttons and test us in many areas. But she is just so darn cute!! ;-) It's amazing to think how much she has grown and changed in the past year! How time flies! Her latest thing that she says ALL the time now is, "I DUDE (do) IT!" Oh, let the independence start! ;)
We are loving Germany and enjoying the four seasons. The fall leaves were gorgeous and so far the snow is come and go here, but beautiful! Jackson loves playing in the snow and being outdoors. We have trails that surround our house that goes for miles and miles. We have been having so much fun exploring them and getting lost in the villages. The food here is great (love the salads!), the beer is awesome and the Germany countrysides are spectacular!
We had Jason's family here for Christmas and had such a memorable time. We took a road trip to Munich, Neuschwanstein Castle, Rothenberg and little side trips here and there. Even though we had a stomach virus work it's was through the group while traveling, and learning that Grace gets car sick (yeah...no fun...) we didn't let that stop us. It was so nice having them here!
My mom is making her way here next week and we can't wait! She will be here for 3 weeks and then my dad is coming to stay for another 3 weeks. We have many things planned while they are here including a ski trip to the Germany/Switzerland border, and what I am really excited about is a weekend getaway for Jason and I while GaGa and Daddy Don keep the kids. Whoo-hoo!!!
Whew! I think that about sums it up!
I'll be posting more that in the past so keep on checking back for updates and future travels from the Scherden family! <3